Paradise Blueway opens trail to Ten Thousand Islands

Kelly Farrell/Special to the Eagle

Frank Millot and dog Bailey are among the first to kick-off from the future launch site at Mar-Good Harbor Park in Goodland. The two joined hundreds of visitors and paddlers celebrating Collier County's new Paradise Coast Blueway system Saturday. The new kayak and canoe trail system which spans from Goodland to Everglades City and will ultimately become a part of the Florida Saltwater Circumnavigation Trail encircling the entire Florida Peninsula from Jacksonville around to the Panhandle.

Photo by KELLY FARRELL

Daryl Thomas and his dog Dax of Isle Capris enjoy their first day on the Paradise Coast Blueway. Thomas was among hundreds of people who gathered Saturday for the grand opening of phase one of Collier County's new Blueway system of kayak and canoe trails, which span from Goodland to Everglades City and will eventually connect to the Florida Salwater Circumnaviagtion Trail surrounding the entire Florida peninsula's perimeter.

Even the most experienced paddlers say it’s easy to get lost within the mangroves’ twists and turns among the Ten Thousand Islands.

A two-year effort to increase eco-tourism by making the Ten Thousand Islands more accessible culminated with Saturday’s grand opening celebration of the first phase of the Paradise Coast Blueway, a GPS-marked map and system of seven canoe and kayak trails.

Peartree Avenue in Goodland was lined with SUVs and station wagons decorated with kayaks as hundreds of people from Lee and Collier counties gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the future Mar-Good Harbor Park in Goodland.

“This is a great way to get more people to understand and enjoy the natural Florida we have and most importantly to conserve it. This is a very non-invasive use of our natural resources,” said Jack Wert, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau in Collier County.

This first of three phases starts at Rabbit Key in Everglades National Park and ends at Goodland. There are several day-trip routes and a long route with campsites marked along the stretch from Coon Key near Goodland to Everglades City.

Phases 2 and 3 will extend the Blueway along the northern coastline of Collier County to Bonita Springs, connecting the Paradise Coast Blueway to the Great Calusa Blueway and ultimately becoming part of the Florida Saltwater Circumnavigation Trail, encircling the entire Florida peninsula from Jacksonville around to the Panhandle in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This is going to be like the Appalachian Trail. It’s a good clean vacation. Anything to get the kids outdoors and work on more muscles than the ones in their thumbs,” Lee County Parks and Recreation volunteer Ben Desmond said.

The Paradise Coast Blueway was a cooperative effort of the Florida Commission on Tourism, Collier County Heath Department, Collier Parks and Recreation Department, Tourist Development Council, University of Florida and nearly 300 members of the Paradise Coast Paddlers Club.

“We started this 27 months ago. It’s been a huge effort by county and state employees donating their personal time. Joseph (Taboada) paddled each one of those trails at least three times in high tide, low tide, in the wind and in slack tide. A lot of us get our name in the paper, but this guy got dirty,” said Mike Devlin, president of the Paradise Coast Paddling Club.

Taboada was one of several paddlers who did what he called “truth testing,” double-checking that the GPS coordinates initially established were correct and that each trail was in fact navigable.

Saturday, at least 50 kayakers appreciated the volunteer time put in by dozens of volunteers including Taboada, Collier Parks and Recreation ranger Bob Martin, Kelly Robinson of the Health Department and Rhonda Watkins of Collier Pollution Control, who created maps that were printed.

“It was like herding kittens -- getting us all together to complete this project,” Robinson said.

Whether in their own kayak or in one of the 25 kayaks donated for the event by Everglades Area Tours and Saltwater Sports, Saturday’s paddlers took off from the temporary ramp at Mar-Harbor Park with maps in hand or following a seasoned guide.

Dozens of brightly colored kayaks bobbed along the waterways as Goodland residents waved, smiled and yelled: “watch your wake,” as paddlers passed by their docks.

Kelly Ducham of Golden Gate Estates said it was her first time kayaking near Goodland. The self-titled novice said it wouldn’t be her last.

“It’s very easy to get disoriented out there. You can get twisted around. This (map) will really help. It’s hard to get my family outdoors, but I’ll be joining the Paradise Coast Paddlers Club because I want to get out here more, but not by myself,” Ducham said.

Mar-Harbor Park is still in the design-planning phase and is scheduled to open by 2010 with a permanent kayak and canoe launch onto the Paradise Coast Blueway.

Sandy and Elhanon Combs sold their Mar-Good RV Park to Collier County government in order to make room for the future park. The Combses closed their business April 1, 2005.

“We had condo developers knocking on the door but we weren’t going to ruin Goodland. So this was the best thing we could do,” Sandy Combs said.

She was given the opportunity to cut the large ribbon for the opening of the Blueway.

“What a wonderful thing for the world to see … and this is going to be important for world tourism,” Wert said.

After one to three hours of kayaking, many paddlers returned from one of the shorter Blueway trails sharing their sightings of nature and wildlife.

“When you’ve got a dolphin swimming next to you and an osprey overhead, that’s a good day,” Devlin said.

Maps and information about the Paradise Coast Blueway are available at Saltwater Sports, 11369 U.S. 41 East, and on the Blueway’s Web site www.paradisecoastblueway.com.

Contact Kelly Farrell at kelfarrell@yahoo.com